


With You I Am Strong

by timelady2



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Angst and Fluff, F/M, Gen, Other, deafness
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-18
Updated: 2013-11-20
Packaged: 2018-01-01 23:51:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,635
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1050064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/timelady2/pseuds/timelady2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony is deafened during a mission, with no-one knowing if it is permanent or not. Of course it isn't just Tony who is affected  by this turn of events.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Tony lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling of his bedroom, silence encasing him as he focused on one of the small lights above the bed. He could feel the needle in his arm every time he clenched and unclenched his hand, but it just served as a reminder that there was something else there, reminding him that he was alive.

Swallowing heavily, he turned his head slowly towards the machines next to the bed, watching them for a few seconds and trying to imagine what they would have sounded like. Not even the movement of his head on the pillow brought him any noise and he felt his chest clench a little bit more.

His eyes drifted up to the door when he sensed a movement, and a soft smile formed on his face when he saw Pepper stepping into the room. Looking at her face, he didn't see any sort of pity in her smile as she walked over to the bed to wrap her hand gently around his, stroking it with her thumb. He wanted to speak with her, to tell her that he was sorry, for what he didn't know but he felt like he had to be sorry for something. His eyes then found the writing pad next to the bed as Pepper picked it up, quickly writing something on it to show him.

_'The doctors say you're doing well, you can be up and about in no time'_

Tony scoffed, a noise that he couldn't hear, and shook his head, turning it again to look around the room and then back to Pepper when he felt her squeeze his hand. Reaching for the pad and pen, he scrawled her a note in his messy handwriting that she had always joked about needing a translator to read.

_'And my hearing?'_

He kept his eyes on Pepper's face, his stomach sinking when he saw the sigh that his girlfriend gave out, looking away from her as she looked back at him. Feeling Pepper's hand on his cheek, he closed his eyes for a few seconds to try and ground himself.

This wasn't happening. He was Tony Stark. Iron Man. He couldn't be deaf.

Taking another few seconds to mull things over, Tony took the pen and paper from Pepper again, writing her another scribbled message.

_'At least you won't have to nag me to turn my music down'_

He gave the pad to Pepper, along with a wry smile as he saw her laugh slightly, noting the slight sheen to her eyes before she reached up to wipe it away. Moving his hand back to hers, Tony squeezed it gently, successfully getting Pepper's attention.  

Tony wanted to say something, anything, but he didn't know what. His life had just changed so dramatically and he didn't know what to do, and he hated that feeling.

"Wha.."

He shut his mouth as soon as he started to talk, reaching up to place his hand on his throat. It was odd, he could feel himself talking, but he couldn't hear it. He could feel the words he wanted to say and yet he had no idea how they were coming out.

_'What happened? It can be treated, yes?'_

Handing the pad back to Pepper he waited for her answer. He had been conscious for two days now, and aware of his lack of hearing for one day, and now he wanted answers.

He waited while Pepper wrote her response, looking up at the ceiling and letting out a low breath as he waited, trying to count the seconds to pass the time, anything to stop his mind from wandering and making up horrible scenarios.

A pat to his arm drew his attention back to his girlfriend and he took the pad from her, his heart dropping into his stomach as he read it.

_'There was an explosion, you'd taken your helmet off to help calm down some children you were with. The explosion was unexpected and it knocked you all out, the doctors aren't sure if the deafness is from the blow to the head or from eardrum damage. And the children are all fine before you ask, or they will be eventually, no lasting damage'_

There was some hope then? That thought gave Tony the lift he needed to be given and he gave Pepper a small smile, moving his hand to take hers. As long as she was there he would be okay.


	2. Chapter 2

The lack of sound was something that Tony couldn't get used to, not at all. He could hear, (feel?), vibrations in his head sometimes when there were apparent very loud noises in the room, but apart from that there was nothing.

He couldn't imagine the rest of his life without hearing, it just didn't seem possible. How could he be Iron Man without the use of his ears? There was a small part of Tony however that refused to believe that it was permanent, the stubborn part of him that had kept him alive in the past. The part that pointedly ignored the sign language book that had been left on the side of his bed for when he had woken one day.

No. He was Tony Stark. He wasn't going to let this beat him.

Pepper had been his rock in the past few days, especially when the machines had been removed from his bedroom and she had been allowed back into their bed to sleep. He woke in the night sometimes, the darkness and the lack of sound causing him to panic, Pepper's touch soothing him and making him realise that he was okay, that he was there with her. Tony couldn't understand why Pepper was still with him, he never could, he was slowly breaking himself while she stood watching and unable to do anything about it but try and hold him together. He loved her so much and he couldn't remember if he had told her that before the accident.

Tony's thoughts were interrupted by the door opening and he looked up from the computer tablet on his lap, giving Pepper a small smile as she stepped into the bedroom. God how he loved her. Reaching out his hand towards his partner, his smile turned into a grin as she took it, Tony bringing it up to his mouth to kiss the back of Pepper's hand softly. He was rewarded with her other hand running through his hair, a fond look on her face as he let her take the tablet from his hands.

_'How are you feeling?'_

Tony read the message and shrugged lightly, taking it back from her to type one in response. He didn't really know how he was feeling.

_'Better. I suppose. At least the press haven't got word of this'_

He watched as Pepper nodded, a grim look on her face. Both knew that it would be impossible to keep it from the rest of the world, who would have a field day with the story. They just wanted to avoid that for the time being.

_'The others send their regards, they're all out of the country right now but they send their get well messages'_

Tony leant his head back against the headboard and shook it, letting out a sigh that he couldn't hear and then looked over at Pepper. By 'regards' he knew that Pepper meant sympathy, but he wasn't about to comment on that. He also knew that Natasha's message was also most likely something along the lines of 'Get out of bed and stop moping, you've got things to do'.

The thought brought a smile to his face and he shook his head Pepper's questioning look, letting out another sigh which he only felt in the back of his throat and nose.

_'I need to get out of bed, properly this time. I can't stay here all the time'_

The smile Pepper gave him made his stomach clench and he couldn't help but smile back as she placed the tablet on the bedside table. As Pepper stood, Tony sat himself up a bit more and slowly moved himself to sit on the edge of the bed, his body still aching slightly from the beating it had got during the mission. Walking for him was strange now, it took him a while to get his bearings when he stood, mostly due to something about his balance being thrown by the damage to his ears, or whatever the doctor had relayed to him.

He stood using the bedside table as a help, knowing that Pepper would hover around until _he_ reached for _her_. It was one of the many reasons that Tony loved her, she wouldn't push him or make him feel uncomfortable, she let him take control of the situation he found himself in.

By God was he going to marry this woman.

_'I need to learn to sign properly, and to drive with one less sense, and I need to reprogram JARVIS so that I can see what he's saying on screen. I think he can already understand sign language but I'll have to check just in case'_

Tony watched Pepper as she read the message, a small smile on her face which turned into a chuckle that he could remember the sound of. He loved to make her laugh and smile, especially when she wasn't expecting it.

_'You should slow down, there is time for all of that. The doctor says you need to slow down for a while'_

He shook his head, waving the message away. There was no time to slow down, he had things to do. He had to keep his mind away from the numbness that seemed to creep up on him when he was alone with his thoughts. 

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written proper fanfiction in months, years even, so this is my start back into the world of fanfiction. Hopefully.


End file.
